WWW-Wonderful World of Wikis

While Pete was off learning about the Historical Society's public document collection, others of us attended David Null and Terri Muraski's program "The World of Wikis." Terri presented an overview of wikis, what they are (a social software), what they can do and who's using them. She had lots of examples from Library's that are using wikis for various things, including subject pages.

David used the UW Madison Stem Cell Research Wiki as a specific example of a wiki in action. The stem cell research library group has put together a wiki to keep document the actual stem cell research and to collect reactions to stem cell research in Wisconsin. They are using PMwiki for this project. They have password protected the information so that only those involved in the group can access, add and change information in it.

David's list of pros and cons to using a wiki for this are:
Pros:
1) It's easy to use
2) It is a great way to keep track of web sites
3) It can link to almost everything on the web (word docs., pdf, databases, etc.)
4) It can be customized

Cons:
1) There are other ways that the information could be kept (e.g., MyWebSpace)
2) People don't always remember to update in both places if more than one is being used to keep track of the information
3) Can password protect the information (but questions whether this really needs to be done.)
4) Not good for graphics or images

Overall a very informative program with lots of great ideas for integration into library websites!